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VISAA Divison II Girls Basketball

 

No. 10 Norfolk Collegiate (8-10) at No. 7 Covenant (9-13), 5:30 p.m.

 

The basics: This play-in game in the first round of the tournament pits two teams that are a lot a like, but have yet to play each other. If you break down Covenant’s schedule, there are some losses that standout in a good way. The Eagles gave two solid local public schools a run for the money in Western Albemarle and Charlottesville. An overtime loss to St. Margaret’s is another solid showing. The problem for Covenant though is that they’ve dropped seven of their last seven, but again, in a silver lining outlook, almost exclusively against strong Division I opponents. So the Eagles enter this tournament having played a big, strong schedule with some bumps along the road. Conversely, Norfolk Collegiate has played all private schools, a decent handful of them Division I opponents, but their schedule by comparison wasn’t as rough. The Eagles and Mighty Oaks share one like opponent, St. Gertrude’s who both teams narrowly lost to. Covenant has excelled in high scoring games. Norfolk Collegiate has been at its best in low to mid-scoring games. So there’s a contrast in style there. These are two teams loaded with youth, so in a playoff game like this, it’s really difficult to say or know what we can expect just based on paper. As they say, this is why you play the games.

 

Key matchup: Covenant’s Emily Maupin takes on Norfolk Collegiates Shahrazad Madison in the paint. While Mauphin’s 6-foot-3 frame dwarf’s Shahrazad’s 5-foot-10 build, the latter is a more physical force down low, a truly tough opponent that moves well. Maupin’s height should give the Eagles their usual rebounding edge, but Shahrazad has to be double teamed when the Mighty Oaks run their half court set as she can post up and create space on just about anyone. Keeping Maupin out of foul trouble is paramount, so the help defense has to be there. Of course on the other end, Norfolk Collegiate has its hands full with Maupin who is anything but a one-trick pony as she can post up, finish underneath and shoot outside. Maupin moves well off the dribble and is an easy target to find for her teammates thanks to her length. In all likelyhood, the winner of Maupin versus Madison gives their respective team the edge. And if one can get the other in foul trouble, the game will change drastically.

 

Who to watch: Eagles junior Sara Meakem. While Maupin is the engine that drives Covenant on both ends of the floor, Meakem has done a great job of stepping up this year with 15 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Meakem has one of the Eagles’ best assist-to-turnover ratios and that will be key too. If she can put up her usual line, that will go a long way into changing a defensive game plan that is likely built upon stopping Maupin at all costs. Meakem threw in 25 points in the Eagles last win, an 83-71 victory over Virginia Episcopal. If she replicates or comes close to that, Covenant will be in great shape.

 

The line: Covenant by 6. The Eagles’ schedule comes into play here. And with their top two options being their most experienced, they get the edge and the right to play perennial state title contender Miller School in the next round.

 

VISAA Division II Boys Basketball

 

No. 11 Miller School (13-12) at No. 6 Walsingham Academy (20-8), 6 p.m.

 

The basics: Miller may be floating just above .500, but there’s a reason a team that close to .500 is in this tournament–the Mavericks have faced a top-notch schedule and in a lot of spots they’ve gotten the better of some highly-regarded squads. For example, Millwood is ranked a notch above the Mavericks, but Miller just beat them about 11 days ago. They beat Virginia Episcopal by eight at home and only lost by two at the Bishops’ place. Early in the year Miller beat a Woodberry squad that is now the No. 9 seed in Division I. Two straight losses against Blue Ridge and Carlisle have the Mavericks reeling a bit headed into the state playoffs, but with a trio of Ron Alston, Chance Sheffey and Tyler Creammer leading the way, Walsingham can’t be thrilled about getting matched up with Miller in the first round. Walsingham also has a number of quality wins. They’ve beaten VISAA playoff teams like Hampton Roads Academy and Atlantic Shores while also taking Norfolk Collegiate, the No. 2-seeded squad in the Division II bracket, into double overtime in a regular season meeting. Like Miller, Walsingham is coming in coming off a loss, having dropped the TCIS title game to Norfolk CollegiateSaturday.

 

Key matchup: Miller’s defensive stopper Ron Alston takes on Walsingham’s Richard Washington or Jaylin Stewart. We want try and guess who Danny Manuel is going to assign Alston to guard, but it’s a safe bet that it’ll either be the Wake Forest-bound shooting guard Washington or the electric freshman pointlat  guard Jaylin Stewart. Alston is a proven defensive entity, sort of the high school equivalent of a Kobe-stopper. Stick him on the best scorer and he’ll hold them down nearly every night.

Who to watch: Miller’s Chance Sheffey. Sheffey is a scorer, and he’s exactly the kind of player Miller is going to need to get hot against Walsingham. Sheffey’s ability to create off the dribble (he averages 15.3 ppg) could plunge Walsingham into chaos defensively. That could open up things for players like Alston outside, Creammer underneath and another Miller sharpshooter, sophomore Jaylin Reed who has knocked down 51 3-pointers this season while shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.

 

The line: Miller by 1. The Mavericks are no strangers to traveling and Alston can be a great equalizer on the defensive end even with two stars like Washington and Stewart in the mix.

 

VISAA Division I Basketball

 

No. 9 Woodberry Forest (12-12) at No. 8 Cape Henry (14-9), 6 p.m.

 

The basics: Woodberry basketball is back in the state playoffs for the first time in several years, and it’s thanks in large part to a sophomore tandem that is among the state’s best. Joe Foley and Max Johns are an unbelievable one-two punch at the guard spots, and they’ve been giving opponents on Woodberry’s challenging schedule fits all season. The Tigers are coming off a loss to St. Christopher’s in the Prep League semifinals, but in the quarterfinals they managed to hold off Collegiate at home, winning in overtime. Cape Henry, last year’s state champion in Division I, comes in on a frustrating skid, having lost four of their last six games. They’ll need to get a lot out of Mark Seaman, who had 16 points including three 3-pointers to lead the Dolphins in a win over I.C. Norcom early in February. Still, the Tigers’ backcourt is a big-time challenge and could absolutely create problems in Virginia Beach for the Dolphins.

 

Key matchup: Woodberry’s frontcourt takes on Cape Henry’s 6-foot-6 freshman Dajour Rucker. Without a lot of elite height down low, tall post players have created problems for the Tigers at times this season, and Rucker is another skilled forward. The good news is that despite a lot of overwhelming success in the paint of late, the Tigers won’t be surprised. With their schedule, they’re used to running into these type of players. Clark Yarbrough and the other big men will also likely get a lot of help from guards like Johns doubling down on Rucker.

 

Who to watch: It has to be Johns here. He’s come on strong of late, particularly in the first half where he was solid offensively against St. Christopher’s and scored the Tigers’ first eight points against Collegiate. Those two efforts were good enough to earn him an All-Prep League tournament nod and he was also named All-Prep League earlier this week. Johns, along with Foley, will have to step up in a big way for the Tigers to knock off Cape Henry. Throw in a dash of Calder Clay from outside and things could interesting quickly if Woodberry can control the pace.

 

The line: Woodberry by 3. The Tigers should be able to shake off that “just happy to be here” feel early and realize what a unique opportunity they’ve got in front of them. Plus a win gives them another shot at archrival Episcopal, seeded No. 1 in the bracket.

 

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